The Modern format can be very expensive for Magic players, especially with so many decks that need the increasingly expensive fetch-lands. So when building Modern decks that are reasonably budget friendly, we are looking to keep the deck's total cost less than $200 USD and really no higher than $250. This one is actually under $75, and it’s Mono-Green Infect.

Mono-Red Burn is is often the least expensive deck to play in Modern that has a definite chance if being competitive. But Mono-Green Infect can definitely hold its own. There are other budget variants, such as Mono-Black Infect, which is more of a control-oriented build. Then there's a deck on opposite side of the financial spectrum with BUG Infect, which is more consistent, but requires quite an investment in the mana base. (Also, the banning of Gitaxian Probe in Modern really hurt the deck.)

The deck plays only 12 creatures, all of which have infect. Let’s break them down.

The most basic of the Infect creatures, Glistener Elf is just a 1/1 Elf Warrior for a single green mana. For those that have never played Infect, essentially, Infect creatures deal damage in the form of -1/-1 counters instead of regular damage and in the form of poison counters to players. Once a player reaches 10 poison counters, that player automatically loses the game. It sounds like a cheap win condition, but it’s easier said than done.

Ichorclaw Myr is a very strong Infect creature from Scars of Mirrodin. It’s actually only a common, as well. It’s a 1/1 Infect creature for 2 colorless mana, but whenever it becomes blocked, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn. With all of the “pump” spells in this deck, this means that the Ichorclaw will win a lot of combats that you wouldn’t expect it to win.

Necropede is a very solid artifact creature. It’s a 1/1 for 2 colorless mana, but it has an added effect when it dies: allowing you to put a -1/-1 counter on a target creature. It’s not quite as good as Ichorclaw Myr, but it’s a solid Infect creature nonetheless.

Now onto the non-creature spells. There is actually one non-Green card in the deck.

One of the defining elements of the New Phyrexia set was the Phyrexian mana symbols. These symbols allow you to pay 2 life rather than the colored mana cost of a card. Apostle’s Blessing ordinarily costs 1W to cast, but as this is a mono-green deck, you will pretty much always be paying 1 colorless and 2 life.

What’s so useful about this card is that it gives a creature (or artifact) protection from a color of your choice or artifacts until end of turn. The artifact part is especially useful when facing decks that utilize artifact creatures like Solemn Simulacrum and Wurmcoil Engine, both of which are seen quite often in Modern. That protection can give one of your Infect creatures the chance to strike for lethal, an effect well worth paying 2 life for. That’s why there are 4 copies of it in this deck.

Rancor is a very strong Green Enchantment that was last printed in Magic 2013. It wasn’t in Standard when Infect was, but it was a very popular card whenever it was in Standard. For only a single Green mana, the Enchanted creature gains +2/+0 and trample. Then, when it’s put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you return it to its owner’s hand.

Gaining that extra two power and trample allows you to be far more aggressive in attacking, especially when knowing you’ll get Rancor back if and when that creature dies in combat or is removed from the field. Multiple copies of Rancor on a creature can spell the end of the game for your opponent.

I should note that the effect to return it to your hand only works if it actually makes it onto the battlefield. Were you to try to equip it to a creature and that creature is destroyed before the Enchantment resolves, it will simply go to the graveyard and it won’t come back.

Groundswell looks like an ordinary pump spell, +2/+2 to a target creature until end of turn for a single green mana. But being from the Zendikar block, it has a Landfall ability on it. If you had a land enter the battlefield under your control during the turn that you play this, that creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn instead. That’s quite potent when sticking it on an Infect creature.

Vines of Vastwood from Zendikar does something similar to Groundswell, but in a different way. For one green, a target creature can’t be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control this turn. This is handy for stopping opponent’s removal spells. But if you pay an additional green mana as you play it, that creature gains +4/+4 until end of turn, as well. It’s a very strong kicker spell that can both protect your creature and make it bigger.

Mutagenic Growth serves multiple purposes in this deck. In fact, mono-Green infect isn’t the only Modern deck that this card sees play in. It sees play in Zoo, as well. Giving a target creature +2/+2 until end of turn helps creatures get out of the range of Lightning Bolt, and considering that this card has the alternative Phyrexian mana cost (2 life), you don’t even have to have open mana to play it. In an infect deck, it’s just another couple damage, but keep in mind that it can help you win combats that you may not otherwise win, and your opponent must be aware that you don’t need open mana to play it. It’s a very strong card.

While older lists ran Ranger’s Guile, the Kaladesh set offered something far more powerful in Blossoming Defense. It's similar to Vines of Vastwood in that your opponent’s spells and abilities can’t target the creature you choose. It also gives that creature +2/+2, which isn’t quite as good as the Vines, but no kicker is involved. You play this card more to protect creatures from removal. The +2/+2 boost is just a nice bonus.

There are the full four copies of it in this deck, taking the place of 2 Ranger's Guile and 2 copies of Might of Old Krosa.

Might of Old Krosa was actually $10 a copy for a time, as it’s a staple in many Modern Infect decks. Fortunately, a Modern Masters 2017 reprinting put this card back in budget range.

For a single Green mana, it gives a target creature +2/+2 until end of turn. However, if you play it during your main phase, and not as a combat trick, that creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn instead. Because it’s not as useful as a combat trick, there are only 2 copies of it in the deck. It’s a very solid card nonetheless.

The original version this list is based on ran two copies of Giant Growth, as classic a pump spell as you can get. Giant Growth is still as good as it ever was. In an Infect deck, +3/+3 for one Green mana as a combat trick is extremely potent.

But Khans of Tarkir gave us Become Immense. While on the surface it costs 6 mana to cast, it has Delve, which allows you to remove cards from your graveyard to make it cheaper. The +6/+6 can win you a game out of nowhere. As just another +3/+3 pump spell, Giant Growth is now redundant.

Now we take a look at the lands. We start with 12 basic Forests. Then we have an interesting card called Cathedral of War.

The Magic 2013 Core Set had an interesting sub-theme of Exalted in it. However, there weren’t enough good Exalted cards to make it very useful in Standard. At one time, during the Shards of Alara block, Exalted was a very potent mechanic. It existed on some very popular creatures, including Noble Hierarch, which is still an extremely popular card in Modern and Legacy today. What Exalted does is give a creature that is attacking alone an additional +1/+1 until end of turn.

As there are four copies of Cathedral of War in this deck, that’s a potential additional +4/+4 as long as you have a creature attacking alone, which oftentimes with this deck is not all that unusual. The one downside to this card is that it enters the battlefield tapped, but in a deck like this with such a low mana curve, that’s not a huge drawback.

You may wonder how a card with the old Magic border is in Modern. Because Pendelhaven was printed as a Time-shifted special card in Time Spiral, it is considered part of Modern. (There is also a Modern-bordered Friday Night Magic version, as well.) Pendelhaven is a Legendary Land that allows you to add Green mana to your mana pool, but it also has a tap ability to give a target 1/1 creature +1/+2 until end of turn. This makes any of your 1/1 creatures into 2/3’s before you pump them at all. The fact that it can also double as a Forest is very useful. It’s a very strong card first printed back in the early days of Legends.

For the sideboard, we have 4 Tormod’s Crypt, a zero-drop that can tap to remove all cards from a target player’s graveyard. This can deal with any graveyard strategies, and hurt opposing Tarmogoyfs by depriving them of card types in the graveyard. There are 4 copies of Nature’s Claim, which is a one-drop Green instant that destroys a target artifact or enchantment, but gives that player 4 life. Then again, life totals do not matter when you are playing an Infect deck.

There are 2 copies of Fog in the sideboard, to help protect you from aggressive strategies that simply have more creatures than you can handle. By playing Fog when an opponent is swinging out, you get to prevent all combat damage. There are also two more copies of Might of Old Krosa, and an additional copy of Ranger’s Guile.

The last card in the sideboard is two copies of Pithing Needle. It’s a very useful 1-drop Artifact that can stop the activated abilities of many different sorts of cards, including specific fetch-lands, artifacts, or planeswalkers that might deal you a problem. It was very good against Deathrite Shaman when it was legal in Modern, but that card is now banned. It still deals with a lot and is a good inclusion in most Modern sideboards.

You may wonder what happened to one of the premier infect cards in Magic, Inkmoth Nexus. This land from Mirrodin Besiged is the center of any infect-based deck. In fact, it is such a good card that during the Scars of Mirrodin block days of Standard, a lot of decks played it just to make opponents have to worry about it. It’s a colorless land that can become a 1/1 artifact creature with flying and infect until end of turn for only a single mana. With just a few pump spells, one Nexus can finish a game on its own.

The problem is that the cost of four Nexus doubles the cost of the entire deck. A playset of Nexus can cost about $70 (as of November 2017). It's because Inkmoth Nexus also sees a lot of play in Modern Affinity decks that can equip it with a card like Cranial Plating for a quick finish. If you do want to pick up a playset of Inkmoth ﻿Nexus, it is well worth the investment.

If you’re looking to be competitive in the Modern format on the cheap without having to resort to Mono-Red Burn decks, this might be a good option for you. Mono-Black Infect is a bit less expensive, but not quite as consistent in winning. All of the cards in this deck, perhaps with the exception of Cathedral of War, are played in Modern and other formats. So, building this deck is also a great boost to your collection!

If you’re looking for another Modern deck for you that you can build on the cheap, let us know what archetypes you would like to play. Then, we'll build the best deck that we can under $200.

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Staff Authors

Lyn Lomasi & Richard Rowell are life & business partners. Owners of the Write W.A.V.E. Media network, they are your content superheroes to the rescue! Running their network, tackling deadlines single handedly, and coaching fellow writers & entrepreneurs to be thought leaders is their top priority. While rescuing civilians from boring content and marketing, they conquer the world, living the RV life and making Crafts For A Purpose with their awesomely crazy family while recounting The Nova Skye Story, along with Kymani’s Travels. They also strive to one day cuddle with lions and giraffes. Until then, they’ll settle for furry rescue kitties and doggies.